Policy Analysis

The Policy Consulting Department has a long standing track record in the research and analysis of renewables policies and administrative procedures. A strong focus lies on the European Union and the accession and associated countries of the Union. With a team of 16 portfolio managers covering all 23 languages of the European Union, the Policy Department is providing expert knowledge on all markets, with a deep understanding of past developments, current changes as well as future evolutions. The services include the definition of support scheme design options, the removal of non-cost barriers, the legal-economic analysis of renewable energy business models as well as the integration of renewable energies into national grids and markets.

The Policy Consulting Department performed a high number of comparative studies, analysing the circumstances for renewables energies in the European markets and the markets of the associated and accession countries. A central aspect of these analyses are the existing barriers for the development of renewable energies. To this end, the Policy Consulting Department created a barrier database, containing more than 1,000 existing barriers for the development of renewable energies in Europe. The database not only illustrating the existing barrier situation, but also allows for a tracking of past developments. The database serves as a basis for a large number of projects and analyses and is the most comprehensive overview of its kind in Europe.

Furthermore, the Policy Consulting Department gained substantial expertise for the legal-economic analysis of renewable energy business models. Here, the Department performed studies in the EU as well as in the MENA region and South America. The studies thoroughly analysed the existing and potential future business models for renewable projects and their inherent administrative procedures in the different markets under concern. The studies also identified the existing barriers for the implementation of projects under these business models.

In addition, the Policy Consulting Department has also strong knowledge in the research, monitoring and analysis of climate and greenhouse gas reduction policies. To this end, the Department is inter alia supporting the Directorate General CLIMA in the coordination of the European Semester by providing up-to-date information on the climate-relevant developments in all EU Member States. The services include the drafting of monthly progress updates and country reports that entail the latest developments in such policy fields as environmental taxation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy infrastructure, transport or agriculture. Moreover, the country reports identify the key challenges for the achievement of national 2020 targets and formulate policy recommendations to address the identified challenges.